'Stop Bullying: Speak Up' campaign comes to Maryland high school

GAMBRILLS, Md. - "Bullying is a problem," exclaimed Arundel High sophomore Christian Hodges. It was a simple, to-the-point message to not only his classmates, but also dignitaries and officials from around Anne Arundel County, the state of Maryland, and the country.

Arundel High was the place where the state of Maryland kicked-off the National Bullying Prevention Month. The effort centers around a partnership between social website giant Facebook and media giant Time Warner and their campaign and pledge called "Stop Bullying: Speak Up."

Today Governor Martin O'Malley and his wife, Judge Katie O'Malley, along with Facebook Vice President for U.S. Public Policy Joel Kaplan and Cartoon Network (which is owned by Time Warner) President Stu Snyder, and stars from the CN's hit show "Dude, What Would Happen" came together with Arundel High students, teachers, administrators, and parents to try to not only raise more awareness about bullying, but also give people the tools to step up and stop bullying when they see or hear about it.

The effort to combat bullying has been one of First Lady Katie O'Malley's biggest causes. In part because of her efforts, Maryland is the first state to come together with the "Stop Bullying: Speak Up" campaign with hopes students, parents, teachers, whomever will sign the pledge to fight back against bullying.

In just the few weeks of the pledge campaign, nearly 50,000 people have signed the pledge on Facebook. The O'Malley's hope that families around Maryland will take time out of their evenings on October 17th to sign the pledge.

But, you don't have to wait until then. If you want to learn more about the campaign and the pledge, click this here for the "Stop Bullying: Speak Up" Facebook page, or the link to the left.